Flyers get day off before crucial stretch

VOORHEES, N.J. --- Before a five-game homestand that will key 17 games that could bend his program and his franchise’s history, Peter Laviolette did what he does best Monday. He called a timeout.

A day after a well-played if ultimately flattening overtime lost in Pittsburgh, and a day before a visit from the New York Rangers and a chance to move closer to the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff slot, Laviolette told his team to stay off the ice.

Though there were meetings, some weight training and a few moments for public reflection at the Skate Zone, the Flyers took a physical and emotional burst before the inevitable: The failure-is-not-an-option portion of the abbreviated, lockout-season schedule.

“Well, we have five home games coming, and this is in our reach, to get some wins together,” Kimmo Timonen said. “And if you look at the last two games, I think we played pretty good. At Tampa Bay we played pretty well and didn’t get the results. In Pittsburgh we battled hard and didn’t get the results. But now we are coming home and now is the time to get some wins.”

Despite an inconsistent season, the Flyers remained just five points out of a playoff spot Monday. With the Rangers due for a 7:30 game tonight, Laviolette clearly chose to project opportunity over panic. So a day off it would be at what would have seemed a critical moment.

“We were on the ice for three practices and a game,” said the Flyers’ coach of a recent and unusual work week. “We got in late from Pittsburgh. It was an emotional game, a physical game. I think just getting the guys in here, we will get more out of 20 minutes tomorrow than we would have gotten out of 30 minutes today. Thirty minutes today would have been dragging them through there. So we did have a meeting and they went upstairs for some work. But just staying off the ice today and just getting the rest was more important.”

The Flyers will have what is expected to be a more spirited than usual morning skate --- at the Wells Fargo Center, not the Skate Zone --- and ready themselves for what would have to be a belated postseason push. That, they will be forced to do without Danny Briere, who is out indefinitely with a concussion, according to general manager Paul Holmgren in a message delivered by the team.

Briere did not travel to Pittsburgh, where the Flyers enjoyed crisp play from goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, defended with passion … and scored once in 62-plus minutes. If that wasn’t a signal that the defense will matter more for those final 17 games, some Flyers made it sound that way Monday.

“Now is the time we have to be real desperate,” defenseman Luke Schenn said. “We have some chances where you are the last line of defense sometimes for your goalie. Sometimes it is good to get in front and block shots and not have that desperation, whether it is in the penalty-kill or on five-on-five. And when everyone does that, guys feed off of one another and go out there and want to do the same.”

The Flyers began the truncated season at 0-3 and have scuffled ever since to remain presentable. Five home games, starting with the team in their immediate way, gives them a chance to warm when it most matters.

“Well, everybody knows the standings,” Timonen said. “It’s everywhere. So I can’t deny that I am looking at the standings. To me, my personal message to the guys is that it is still in our hands. We can control our destiny. Like I said, this week coming up is huge for us and it starts tomorrow, the Rangers, the eighth spot. So obviously, that’s a huge game.

“But I still say that if you go forward, you have to take it game by game. You can’t take a look at the weekend, or what happens if you lose or win. Focus on tomorrow. Win the game tomorrow and then move on.”